Clinical Medicine: review time and acceptance speed

ISSN 1470-2118 · ISSN 1473-4893 · Royal College of Physicians · Medicine

Half of the articles Clinical Medicine accepted in 2025 were accepted within 101 days of submission (n = 102); the middle half took 64–158 days.

Submission → acceptance (2025)
101 days median
middle half 64–158 · n = 102
Acceptance → online
7 days median
middle half 5–9 · n = 102
Open access · fees
Open access (DOAJ) · $2,500

Accepted articles only · dates deposited by the publisher in PubMed · data as of Sep 15, 2026

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How long does Clinical Medicine take to accept a paper?

days045901351802024: middle half 19–118 days772024n=572025: middle half 64–158 days1012025n=102
Line = median; shaded box = middle half of articles (25th–75th percentile). Year of acceptance.
Days from submission to acceptance, by year of acceptance
YearArticles (n)25th pctMedian75th pct90th pctAccepted <14 daysHave a revised date
2025102641011580.0%96%
202457197711812.3%70%

Distribution in 2025

0–29 days: 2% (2 articles)030–59 days: 20% (20 articles)3060–89 days: 22% (22 articles)6090–119 days: 20% (20 articles)90120–149 days: 10% (10 articles)120150–179 days: 5% (5 articles)150180–209 days: 8% (8 articles)180210–239 days: 6% (6 articles)210240–269 days: 3% (3 articles)240270–299 days: 1% (1 articles)270300–329 days: 2% (2 articles)300330–359 days: 1% (1 articles)330360+ days: 2% (2 articles)360+days from submission to acceptance (30-day bins)
Show as a table
DaysArticlesShare
0–2922.0%
30–592019.6%
60–892221.6%
90–1192019.6%
120–149109.8%
150–17954.9%
180–20987.8%
210–23965.9%
240–26932.9%
270–29911.0%
300–32922.0%
330–35911.0%
360+22.0%

From acceptance to online publication

After acceptance, half of the 2025 articles appeared online within 7 days (middle half 5–9 days, n = 102).

From submission to online publication, the median was 109 days (middle half 73–164 days, n = 102).

Read these numbers carefully

  • These times describe articles the journal accepted. Rejected manuscripts never appear in public data, so they cannot tell you how long a rejection takes.
  • Dates are the ones the publisher deposited with PubMed. Some publishers record the date a revised manuscript arrived as the submission date, which makes review look faster.
  • Invited articles and special issues can move faster than regular submissions.

Open access status and publishing fees

Open access (listed in DOAJ). Listed APC: $2,500 (DOAJ).

No institutional payments for this journal are recorded in OpenAPC.

Many journals waive or reduce fees for authors from eligible countries or institutions with publishing agreements — check with the journal and your library.

Integrity and indexing signals

Facts from public records, shown without judgement. See the methodology for why each can be worth a closer look.

Listed in DOAJYes (DOAJ record)
Articles indexed for MEDLINE in 2025Yes
Retractions0 retracted articles among 720 added to PubMed in 2021–2025 (0.00 per 1,000), per the Retraction Watch Database.
Accepted within 14 days of submission0.0% of 2025 articles
Publication volume99 articles added to PubMed in 2025 (+4% vs 2024).

Topics and scope

Medicine journals

Similar journals — faster or cheaper, side by side

Journals publishing on the most similar topics (OpenAlex), ordered by similarity. Only 2025 figures are compared with the 2025 median of Clinical Medicine, 101 days.

Paid APC medianDOAJMEDLINE
Future Healthcare Journal105 (2025, n = 73)No fee (DOAJ)YesNo
British Journal of Hospital Medicine83 (2025, n = 118)NoYes
Internal Medicine Journal126 (2025, n = 239)≈$3,570NoYes
Australian Health Review70 (2025, n = 118)NoYes
Journal of General Internal Medicine169 (2025, n = 496)≈$5,290NoYes
The Annals of Family Medicine169 (2025, n = 80)NoYes
British Journal of General Practice126 (2025, n = 118)$2,597 (5 payments)NoYes
South African Family Practice80 (2025, n = 72)≈$1,356YesYes

Frequently asked questions

How long does Clinical Medicine take to accept a paper?

Half of the articles Clinical Medicine accepted in 2025 were accepted within 101 days of submission (n = 102); the middle half took 64–158 days. Based on dates in PubMed for accepted articles only.

How long after acceptance are Clinical Medicine articles published online?

Half of the articles accepted in 2025 appeared online within 7 days of acceptance (n = 102).

Does Clinical Medicine charge an article processing charge (APC)?

Listed APC: $2,500 (DOAJ).

Sources and method

Journal identity: ISSN-L 1470-2118; NLM ID 101092853; OpenAlex record. Speed figures use 102 articles accepted in 2025 with valid dates; excluded records for that year: none.

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Data sources. Submission, acceptance and publication dates: Courtesy of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (PubMed, entries through Sep 15, 2026). NLM does not endorse Journal Clock, and these figures may not reflect the most current PubMed data. Journal fees and open-access listing: DOAJ (CC0, retrieved Sep 16, 2026). Fees paid by institutions: OpenAPC (Open Database License, retrieved Sep 16, 2026). Retractions: Retraction Watch Database via Crossref (retrieved Sep 16, 2026). Journal identifiers and topics: OpenAlex (CC0). Currency conversion: ECB reference rates (Sep 15, 2026). How these numbers are calculated · For organisations.